True Mates
by The Daughter of Night
Summary: Jackson finds out Stiles is his mate. But now he has to fight for the teen whom he bullied all throughout their lives and now has to suffer the consequences. Slow Build, Eventually Stackson.
1. Chapter 1

Third Person P.O.V.

Jackson sat in his car for a minute, windows down, catching the soft scent of forest, honey, and surprisingly fries. As soon as he caught scent of it, he nearly went crazy getting out of his car to look for the scent. The only thing holding him back was when Danny saw him breezing by, and grabbed his bicep to stop him.

Jackson spun, glaring at who had stopped him from finding the source of the scent. "Jackson, dude, are you okay? You look conflicted."

"Huh, uh yeah. I'm fine, nothing's wrong. Uh, I was just a little distracted." Danny didn't look convinced, but couldn't say anything when the bell rang right after.

"Alright, let's go, I don't want to be late for Harris' class." Jackson nodded numbly, cursing the Hawaiian for stopping him from finding the scent that was driving him insane.

* * *

He sat in class unable to concentrate and nearly jerked up in surprise when the scent he had found in the parking lot was back and a lot stronger now. Jackson looked up to see a pair of sneakers and followed up to see who the feet belonged to, to find no other than Stiles Stilinski. He held his breath, his control slowly crumbling as claws started to appear, gripping the desk harshly.

Scott turned back, hearing the sounds of claws, only to see Jackson losing control and sighed, kicking into the other teen's desk. Jackson flinched ever so slightly and glared at the boy, but Scott only glared back at him and gestured to his claws.

Jackson closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, realizing that was not a good idea when he inhaled the strong scent again, body almost leaning towards the direction of Stiles. He felt Danny's eyes on him; eyes still closed, but did nothing to reassure him as he was still panicking.

"Jackson," Danny whispered, nudging him gently. "You don't look well."

He didn't say anything in response, still gripping the desk but this time without claws, and turned to Danny looking pale.

Danny watch him for a couple moments until Jackson began teetering and that was when he alerted Harris of his friend's condition.

"What is it Danny?"

Danny nodded in Jackson's direction, "He's not feeling well, can I take him to the nurse."

Harris looked about ready to argue until he spared a glance at the Jackson and realized the teen was actually looking sick. He agreed and watched the Hawaiian struggle to pull Jackson out of his seat, lurching forward at the other teen's weight on him.

"Can I help Danny with Jackson?" Harris sighed but motioned for them to be quick as they balanced Jackson's weight between them walking out into the halls.

Jackson felt woozy as the other two teens dragged him over to sit at a bench when he fought them against going to the nurses and rested his face against the cool table.

"Jackson, you okay buddy?" Jackson mumbled something things that were probably meant to be reassuring, but was actually more concerning.

"I've got this, you can go back to class, Danny. I know how much that grade means to you." Danny looked unsure and glanced at Jackson, who only waved his arm at him as if saying he'll be fine.

Danny left after much reluctance and Jackson lied there, groaning in frustration.

"So, you want to tell what happened back there?"

"I don't even know McCall. I caught a scent before class started and I went crazy and was going to look for it if it weren't for Danny. And then I don't know, the scent was back in class and I look up and see Stilinski, so I don't know what to think okay. I don't fucking know anything anymore. Especially this stupid supernatural shit."

Scott watched him after his rant and sighed after coming to a conclusion. "Want to go see Derek right now? That way we only miss Harris' class and next period."

* * *

"Derek? Are you here?" Scott called out into the burnt house, Jackson standing next to him.

Derek jumped down from the staircase, dramatically landing and stood up after dusting his pants off, "Don't you two have class?"

"Yeah, but I think we have a bigger issue." Derek raised an eyebrow at both the issue and the fact that Jackson was as quiet as ever.

The three talked after Scott managed to pull Jackson out of his catatonic state, Derek listening and furrowing his eyebrows every now and then.

"So, do you know what's happening to me?" Jackson looked as desperate as ever to find the cause of this relentless feeling inside of him.

"Yeah, uh I remember my family talking about this, but it was brief because it was a rare occurrence even at that time. My mom said that it was like finding a mate, but a true mate. With werewolves, you have the ability to find mates that meet up to standards, they're called potential mates. But true mates are literally the translation of soul mates, but in werewolves."

Jackson stood gaping, jaw slack, mind racing at the thought of Stilinski being his true mate.

"She said it was going to be an itch you just couldn't scratch away if you find your true matbv ubce, and it can only be abstained with a lot of physical contact." That was when Jackson paled, he had spent the better part of his life tormenting the teen and now he had to live with the consequences.

"Shit, I'm so fucked." Derek raised an eyebrow ever so slightly looking amused.

Scott only agreed with him, shaking his head, "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I spent most of our school life bullying him, he's not just going t decide that it's okay if I tell him we're true mates."

Scott snickered, "He'll probably take his revenge first and then make you beg for forgiveness."

Jackson groaned loudly knowing that was the truth. That was when Derek chose to speak up again, "My mom told me this was really important, but if there's no connection or physical contact, that it could potentially kill you. Your wolf will slowly get weaker and weaker the more you deny it its mate and eventually the pain will be too much for both your wolf and body to handle. So have to be smart about this. I know you don't think I care about you, but this is serious Jackson, don't brush it off as a problem you can solve later. This will break you."

"Okay, thanks Derek." Jackson bid the older wolf goodbye and stumbled after Scott, quiet as his mind was all over the place about Stiles.

Stiles. Stiles is his mate. His true mate. But the teen hated him. He groaned, slamming his head against the steering wheel of his Porsche.

Scott sat in the passenger seat as they both decided it was easier to carpool. Jackson jumped, feeling a strong hand on his shoulder, the aura of calm and ease surrounded the two of them.

"Scott, what do I do? He hates me, he fucking hates me, how am I supposed to tell him, let alone get him to even speak to me in the first place?"

Scott didn't say anything at first, filling silence filling the tension, "I'll talk to him, I guess. Slip in mates and true mates I think. Then, I don't know, I know Stiles, and he isn't gonna be happy about it. But… he won't let himself do that to you, knowing he's the cause of your weakness. You're on your own then though, I can't tell him, that has to be you, Jackson." The teen in response nodded.

"Okay, but, I don't know how to even approach him. It's not like I can slam his against a wall and spit all that out." Scott let out a laugh as Jackson began the drive back to school.

"Not the best, he'd probably throw some blows and leave you furious." Jackson smiled at the antics of his mate, sighing before realizing how gone he was already for the other boy. "Hey, you'll think of something, but I think the best thing to do first is to break up with Lydia."

The mood suddenly dampened at the thought of his girlfriend. "Yeah, guess I gotta do that."

Scott watched the other teen in concern but didn't make a move to say anything.

They both got out of my car, checking the time to see we had made it back a little before second period ended, and leaned against Jackson's Porsche. The bell rang as the two teens stood in complete silence.

Scott pushed himself upright and patted Jackson on the back, "Good luck man, I'll try to talk some sense into Stiles for you even though you don't deserve it, but Stiles comes first, so."

Jackson nodded, grateful for what the other wolf was doing for him and the two walked back inside the school, separating to find their next classes.

* * *

A/N: I know I have a story to update, but... things happen. I don't even know if I'm going to continue this considering I have no time anymore. School hurts, drop out kids, jk don't drop out, your parents will kill you. I hope you liked it, I've been meaning to start of TW fic, but I just never had the time, so, yeah. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy holidays to the others! I hope you guys have a good time with your families!

Review! Till Next Time! :)

Uploaded: 12.24.16

Word Count: 1,513

UnEdited: 12.24.16


	2. Chapter 2

Third Person P.O.V.

Jackson rushed into the locker room right as the lunch bell rang, weaving through the rows of lockers before sliding down the wall against the showers, hidden deep within the room.

He was so fucked, Jackson thought, holding his head in his hands.

His breathing started to increase rapidly and his control was wavering as his eyes continued to flash from green to blue. He threw his head back against the titled walls, groaning.

He held his breath as he heard two people coming into the locker room, praying they wouldn't find him.

His eyes closed as he released a growl of frustration when Scott's hand fell on his shoulder comfortingly.

"You're not looking to well. What happened?" Jackson sighed, shaking his head mumbling a short response.

"Jackson, come on look at me. What happened? Scott called me and said you ran out of third period and that he's been looking for you since." The boy in response just ran his hands through his hair before pulling on the strands harshly.

"I just- It, arghhh. I don't know okay. I was fine one minute and then the next, I just couldn't fucking help myself," Jackson pulled back and was now curled around his knees. "I was listening for his heart beat, and I ended overhearing a conversation with him okay. It was stupid and I don't even know why I'm mad."

Scott and Derek exchanged a glance when Jackson referred to Stiles as him. Scott slid down, taking a seat next to the other teen as Derek sat down in front of the two on a bench nearby.

"What was it about Jackson?" The teen shook his head, mumbling that it was stupid. "Jackson, we can't help you if you won't let us."

The teen just kept shaking his head, jumping up to stand, "It's stupid okay! He's never going to feel this way and I don't want to keep doing this. Maybe I should have left for London."

Jackson finished softly, his pacing turning aggressive. "I overheard him asking a girl out, okay? I don't know why I went crazy, it just- arrgh. I just can't explain it."

Derek looked up at him in sympathy, "It's the pull, that's why it's bothering you so much. You need to talk to him Jackson, this isn't going away and you already know the dangers of just ignoring it or even walking way."

Jackson kept shaking his head at the two. "I feel so useless. I just found out that he's my mate literally a couple hours ago and now I'm going insane." He let out a laugh that soon ended brokenly.

"How do you even know if it's going to affect him? Maybe it's better if I just die." Scott growled at the teen who was visibly giving up.

"What the hell Jackson! It's been what, 3 hours and you're already giving up? Where's the Jackson I know and grew up with. Yes, Stiles will probably be pissed at you, but you don't know what can happen if you try. Why are you so against this anyways? Stiles isn't bad, he just needs someone willing to get to know him."

Jackson was crumbling internally and both Scott and Derek could see, but they couldn't do anything to help the teen. He was shaking, his hands, his head, and his eyes flashing back from canine to human.

"IT'S NOT STILES ALRIGHT. IT'S ME. WHAT IF I CAN'T DO THIS, I'M NO GOOD FOR HIM, CAN'T YOU SEE MCCALL...I mean look at me, I can't even keep myself together." Jackson trailed off brokenly, "I can't okay, just. Leave me alone."

Derek had stood up next to Scott to see Jackson run out of the room, running in the opposite direction of the school, inevitably running away from Stiles.

Derek's jaw ticked, not believing that the teen who was so wistfully fighting for the bite had given up on one of nature's biggest gifts, a mate; his true mate.

"What now? Because I'm pretty sure he needs time to cool off and realize that this is actually happening and I have class still." Derek sighed pinching the area between temple and eyebrows.

"I have to find Peter and talk to him abut this because he used to have a human mate. You, just finish school okay. And please talk to Stiles, this isn't going to go well for anyone."

Scott nodded and watched Derek leave, a hardened expression on the man's face. He bit Jackson and it was now his responsibility along with the fact that Stiles' life was on the line.

* * *

Stiles stood in in front of the walkway, looking for Scott. He sighed when he realized his best friend had probably left to find Allison without telling him and spun on his heel, walking out of the cafeteria and into the hallways.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he had nearly run into Issac who looked as confused as ever.

"Uh, hey Stiles." Stiles nodded his head in acknowledgment and continued walking in the direction of the library. "Wait Stiles?"

The boy paused, not turning to face the teen wolf. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged not responding, Issac beginning to worry as the hyperactive teen was hardly ever quiet. He felt inclined to follow Stiles as the other switched paths when he realized that the wolf was following him.

Once they got to the field, Stiles climbed up the bleachers, Issac following silently like a puppy and they sat, gazing at the afternoon sun lit, green field.

"I'm so tired. There's a pack of alpha werewolves coming and my best friend doesn't even have the time for me, always ditching me for Allison. Is it too much to ask? I mean, I know I got the two of us into the mess, but it's not like I can confront anybody about this. Like what am I supposed to do? Tell someone that I'm best friends with a werewolf, my bully is a werewolf, and I hang out with a pack of werewolves and the occasional druid." Stiles was sobbing by the end and all Issac could do was wrap an arm around him.

The two sat in silence until the bell rand signaling the end of lunch, but neither teen moved, sitting outside the field in silence.

* * *

Scott leaned against the wall near the field hearing Stiles' soft, muffled cries, his heart breaking knowing he was part of the cause, if not all. He rubbed a hand down his face and turned to leave when he heard Issac and Stiles both getting up.

On his way back to the halls, his phone rang and he checked seeing it was Derek and picked up.

"Find Jackson."

"What?" Scott replied back surprised at Derek's greeting.

"I mean it, find Jackson. Peter just told me some things and I'm pretty sure he wants to hear it. And don't mention this to Stiles, it's not going to go well."

Scott cursed, but agreed and was soon hanging up on the older wolf. He turned, heading for the exit, shaking his head at his intentions, first he skipped a couple classes, and now he's ditching school. At this rate his mom was going to kill him and Stiles was going to think he ditched him again.

He sighed, telling himself that he was going to text his best friend after finding the other teen, not knowing that by the end of today, he was going completely forget about the other teen who was watching him sadly from the library window, leaving.

* * *

A/N: I should really be updating Forgotten, but I got so much feedback to continue on Ao3 so you should thank the people over there. Also this story is on archive of our own (Ao3) and will probably get first updates if you want to share some love over there.

Review! Till Next Time! :)

 _Word Count (w/out A/N):1,271_

 _Uploaded: 12.28.16_

 _Edited: 12.28.16_


	3. Chapter 3

**Time Skip to a Month and a Half**

Stiles P.O.V.

I walked into my first class taking the last seat in the back and watched as Scott came trailing in, eyes scanning for me before our gazes locked. He started to move towards my direction when Lydia dropped a hand on his shoulder stopping him. I watched as the two got into a heated conversation catching everybody's attention before the teacher made them take a seat as the bell rang.

Scott took the last open seat near the front, spinning to look at me painfully, but I only shook my head, looking down to avoid anymore gazes.

When the bell rang signally the end of class, I made to stand only to look up and find Scott and Lydia standing in front of me. Scott bit his lip and kept fidgeting while Lydia stood the complete opposite, hands on her hip, radiating confidence.

"Stiles?" I looked back down, packing up my notebook, my hands on the zipper when a hand made contact with mines. I didn't have to look up to know that it belonged to my long-time crush.

"Stiles, please." I pulled back, eyes closed shaking my head. "Please."

I stood stoic, glaring at the space between their heads, not meeting their gazes. "Buddy please-"

"NO!" Scott and Lydia jumped back at my shout. "No, you can't do this to me! You can't expect me to run back into your arms, happy and ready to be of your service. You can't! You don't ignore you best friend for a couple weeks, and then suddenly come running back because you need me. What the fuck Scott, I thought we were brothers. I thought we'd go through everything together. You can't just ignore me one day and talk to me the next thinking we're okay, only to drop me again.

"I was there when you needed me, but where were you. WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU SCOTT? You can't do this, you already took my friends, my family… what else do you want? Huh? I gave you everything and you gave me nothing, not even a fucking thank you." I trailed off, gazing moving around the room in order to avoid theirs.

"Just, Sc- Just go. I'm done, I'm done with all this crap. I'm not gonna try to fit in when I know I'm not wanted." I finally looked up, meeting their gazes as I finished my speech and watched their stone-hard expressions start to break.

"Stiles, no. Buddy, you don't understand-" I shook my head, all my energy drained from my heart-felt speech.

"Save it," I spit out and spun on the heel, grabbing my stuff and walking out the door to my next class.

 _Don't look back, don't look back_ , I kept telling myself, but I was so tired that I had no fight left in me and peeked over my shoulder when I made to turn to my locker.

My breath caught in my throat, but I couldn't help but feel some guilt even after everything that went down. But I couldn't do that anymore, I was breaking and no one was going to catch me and put me back together. And with that in mind, I continued walking, past my locker, past my next class, and into the parking lot, looking for my jeep. The last thought before I pulled out were their faces, disappointment, guilt, and sorrow, but what I couldn't get out of my head was that they didn't fight back.

They let me leave, and that hurt the most.

* * *

Third Person P.O.V.

Scott stood in the empty classroom, feeling hollow. He couldn't believe it, his long-time best friend was done with him. This- _this isn't right_ , this can't end here. Especially not when they need him now, when _Scott needs him._

Lydia had kept quiet the entire time, only making her presence known after Stiles had stormed out, hand curled over his shoulder. "We'll fix this, we'll make it right. We have to Scott... Or else they're both gonna break."

The two stood next to each other in sorrow silence, before they parted to their respective classes.

* * *

Derek stood in the middle of the preserve, eyes flashing in annoyance. "You've got to be kidding me," He mumbled under his breath. He was tired, pissed off, and about ready to kill the first thing he came upon.

"Jackson, you little piece of shit, stop hiding and come out here. Show your face like a real wolf," Derek growled out, patience wearing thin. They had spent weeks looking for Jackson after the teen had run away after his little blowup. If only they had known beforehand that the blond had decide he wanted to runaway and now had the entire pack looking for him.

It was only pure luck when Derek managed to catch his scent on his way to visit Stiles, and backtracked after it, hoping to get his hands on the stupid teen and choke him for leading them on this wild goose chase.

He scanned his surroundings before he heard a branch to his left and managed to catch blue eyes shining in between some tall pine trees, and that was it, Derek tore after him, swearing and throwing threats that made him feel better, but knew it made no difference.

He had almost got the blond, hand coming in contact with his tail, with Jackson whom decided life was better off as a wolf, but it was futile, and Jackson ran out of Derek's sight. Derek groaned, pulling back his arm to punch the tree next to him when an arm came out and caught him before he could strike.

"Derek," The young man himself only bared his teeth at Scott's hand as if it was standing in between his treasure and himself. "Derek, calm down. I talked to Stiles."

That last sentence had caught Derek's attention and had the man shake his arm out of the young teen's grip, shaking out any stiffness after his crazy chase around the preserve. "What did Stiles say?"

Scott scratched the back of his neck sheepishly before responding, the air growing thicker in sadness and guilt, "He- He said he was done. I- I tried, but he wouldn't listen. Derek, I can't lose my best friend. And Jackson too, he may be an asshole, but he is Jackson. But, Stiles, urghh. I don't know what I did. Maybe I should've talked to him, but I got a little busy, and I kind of forgot. But god, he is so mad at me, told me we were done, said he didn't want me anymore, Derek. I can't- _I need him_."

Derek stood in front of Scott as he confessed to Derek what had happened and honestly did not know what to do. He had never had to deal with a teen losing their best friend, nor has he dealt with crying teenagers, but he knew this was harsh, especially when Scott depended on his platonic other half to basically live.

"I'll try to talk to him, see what's up. Go home, okay, take some time out of this, I'll do a last perimeter check and then I'll go see Stiles, and I'll text you after." Scott nodded, looking relieved and smiled crookedly, before he let, his posture lighting up from his sad slouch earlier, but still not as happy as he used to be before.

Derek stood in the clearing, sighing out loud, muttering nothing worth understanding before he made his promised perimeter check, cursing Jackson as the blue-eyed wolf got away again and went to Stiles house.

* * *

"Go away, I don't like you." Derek sighed, hanging haphazardly over the window, knocking again, watching as Stiles began to grow frustrated with him.

"Why can't you fucking wolves knock on doors like normal people, but guess what, even if you knocked now, I still wouldn't open the door. Now shoo, go away, I'm not going to let you in, I'm done. And if this is about Scott and you're checking in, then you can go fuck yourself." Stiles shook his head, muttering more curses and other nonsense about how werewolves couldn't understand when humans want to be left alone.

"Leave. Me. A. Lone. Got it wolfy, you have super hearing for a reason, you should use it some time, it could do you a lot more good." Derek rolled his eyes at the boy's jabs, before knocking louder and more harsher, hoping the amber-eyed teen would let him in because he was done hanging around in trees and roofs.

"No! You're lucky my dad isn't home Derek Hale, or you'd be dead meat. Hey, you know what. I think I'd rather you be dead meat because I'm done and you're doing nothing to help. Stupid werewolves, can't take a hint, get out of here."

Derek finally gave up, deciding Scott could handle the situation till later, his exhaustion getting the best of him and jumped off the landing smoothly and ran back.

Stiles sighed, flopping on his bed face up, groaning loudly. Why couldn't they take the hint, he didn't want anything to do with them if they were going to treat him like shit. Especially Scott, and Lydia, and Derek, and the rest of his pups.

Stiles paused for a couple of seconds before jolting back upwards his mind racing to fill in the missing blanks, where the hell was Jackson? His childhood enemy hasn't been in school for a couple weeks, and remembered hearing about how the school was given some kind of note, but he knew it was bullshit especially with the alpha pack thing going on.

Was that why Scott had decided to talk to him, because Jackson's been missing? Stiles shook his head, rubbing his temples from the headache he was giving himself. He stared up to his ceiling, thoughts scattered everywhere before his curiosity got the best of him and he sat up and pulled on a warm jacket and grabbed his car keys from his desk.

On his way out, he managed to nab a flashlight a deemed it worthy enough with his baseball bat still in his jeep and pulled out of the driveway, thanking the fact that his dad was on the night shift till he early hours of the morning, which left him 3 and a half hours to look for Jackson, with half an hour to get back before his dad noticed he was even gone.

* * *

"Oh my god, this was a bad idea. Such a bad idea. I'm gonna die and no one's gonna save me. No one's gonna hear my cry for help. Oh god, I'm gonna puke. Oh my god! OH MY GOD!... Wait a minute." Stiles scrambled back on the ground after a hard tumble when he felt something move in the bushes. He kept inching back slowly, regret filling his body for not telling anyone he was out here and he was going to die, a very painful death by the sound the animal was making before Stiles meet its gaze, werewolf blue eyes meeting amber.

Hold up, _Stiles knew those eyes_ , knew that the only two who had blue eyes were Derek and Jackson, but neither knew how to transform, but from the looks of it, he would guess that Jackson learned how to in the span of time he was gone considering he saw Derek who looked perfectly fine about an hour ago.

"Good doggy, good boy. Come on, Stiles is very human and can bleed to death, good Jackson. Oh god, okay maybe dog jokes will get me killed faster, I didn't mean them. Sorry, oh god, I don't even know if you can understand me. You might not even be Jackson. Oh my goddd I could be talking to a mentally insane werewolf stuck in this form. And how ironic that it's not my first time. Okay, no more rambling, okay no growling, good Jackson. Stay, don't attack. Stiles is very pale and fragile and will break under werewolf strength, okay?" Stiles held one of his hands up as he used the other to slowly push himself up, trying to maintain eye contact.

That's it, he was doing good, Stiles was almost up on his own two feet when he somehow managed to trip getting up and turned only for a second to catch his balance not knowing that it was useless as the blonde wolf took him down, the two falling on the green, mossy floor..

"OH MY GOD! BAD WOLF, NO. DON'T DO THAT TO ME. Oh my god, are you- are you licking me? EWWW, Jackson, that's disgusting. Okay now off, I'm serious, off." Stiles pushed back the blond's muzzle that kept pushing itself into the junction between Stiles neck and sighed.

"Well, it's nice to see you too buddy," Stiles grinned softly as his hands carded the soft fur. "Nice to see you too."

* * *

A/N: So, it's been a while, but just so yall know, I have updated my other fics in like a year so you all have nothing to complain about. But on another note, how are you guys? I'm good, life's been busy, school and sports, fun, oh yeah and registering for my Junior year, even funner. But I haven't had time to write, let alone even pop up on this site for even a while to type.

Anyways thanks to **ButterfliesInTheSkies** , **MultiFandomLover99** , **Neko-fire demon tempest** , and **Peacebohaters4al** (Guest) for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me and if I had the time, I'd reply to every single one of you individually, but thank you. It really makes me happy knowing people enjoy my work. Thanks for the love and I hope this made your day!

Also saying, yall should follow me or this story on Archive of Our Own because updates for True Mates show up there first, just saying. ;)

Review! Till Next Time!

 _Uploaded:02.26.17_

 _Word Count (w/out A/N): 2,165_

 _Edited: 02.25.17_


	4. Chapter 4

Third Person P.O.V.

"Please leave, Jackson. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit. And can you fucking change back? I already have enough shit going on, I don't need nor want to be a part of this anymore. Now leave me the fuck alone!" Stiles exclaimed out loud as he fell face first into his bed as Jackson stood in the doorway watching Stiles. He weighed his options before climbing into bed with Stiles who had started to sob quietly as Jackson fell into his arms.

"Why's life gotta be so hard Jackson? I just want my own best friend to pay attention to me for once, but he was too invested in his stupid girlfriend, and like I'm not mad at Allison because I know she would never do it on purpose, but fucking Scott. He keeps abandoning me and then comes running back later when he has a problem he can't solve. And I can't take it anymore, I was there for him whenever he needed, but where has he been? Where the hell has fucking Scott been?" Stiles began to let out loud cries, glad that his dad had the late shift tonight and ran his hands along Jackson's spine as he kept crying out into his coat.

Jackson felt pained watching his mate fall apart, but a small piece of him was glad that he now at least was able to comfort Stiles. The two stayed in that position for hours until Stiles had cried himself to sleep, Jackson already succumbed to his dreams as the corners of Stiles' mouth lifted to see the wolf had stayed during his tears and fell asleep cuddled up tot the werewolf.

* * *

"Jackson, stop, get off my bed. You're an amazing pillow to sleep with when you don't move, but off you stupid dog. You're getting dog hair all over my bed and I don't want to clean it up unless you're finally willing to change back and clean up your own mess," Jackson craned his neck at Stiles, his tongue slipping out as he wolfishly grinned at Stiles and stayed right where he was. "I hate you, now behave, I have to go to school. You're such a lucky ass, how'd you even convince your parents to drop you from the semester?"

Stiles finally turned back around to face the teen werewolf who might he add, was still on his bed, as he shoved the last of his homework in his bag and glared at Jackson when the teen turned wolf made no move to answer in anyway.

Stiles groaned in response, "Fine, you win this round, but try not to scare dad, I still haven't told him that I have a refuge werewolf hidden in my room and he wouldn't appreciate finding out just because you got restless from being cooped up in here, which I will also add is your fault because you followed me home and wouldn't leave my bed. OW! Jackson!" Stiles growled out, swatting Jackson's muzzle before the wolf got a second chance to take another nip at Stiles.

"Urgh, please behave, my dad's home for once and I would like to spend some quality father-son time please. And I'll take you out after, I know it's not safe with the alpha pack, but if you're really feeling agitated, then we can go for a run. And hopefully avoid them all," Stiles glowered at the wall as ended before sighing aloud and dropping back onto the bed next to Jackson. "Alright, I gotta go before I'm late, do you want to stay in my room and I'll take you out later, or do you want to leave now and I'll look for you after?"

Jackson huffed and only moved to tuck his large head against Stiles' chest, "I guess that means you're staying. Okay, bye pup. Be good for me k?"

Jackson watched as Stiles stumbled off the bed and out the door before hearing the Jeep start and peeped out the window to see him drive off in a matter of minutes when he realized he was going to be late.

Jackson huffed and fell back onto Stiles' bed telling himself he would just nap until Stiles got back, drifting off and he buried his nose deeper into Stiles' sheets, sighing in content as every breath he inhaled was filled with his delicious mate's scent.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL! STILES!" Jackson jolted upright and jumped down, ready to defend Stiles' room even though his mate wasn't home from school yet before he realized that he was growling at the Sheriff.

The Sheriff stood by the doorway, gun in hand aimed right at Jackson. Said wolf whimpered, and rested his head on top of his paws hoping to calm the Sheriff down to show that he was harmless, and hoped to god he wouldn't shoot.

The Sheriff watched cautiously as the large wolf padded away from him slowly before taking cover behind Stiles' bed when the Sheriff made no move to shoot. "Oh jeez, I need a drink. And I'm going to kill Stiles when he gets home. Why the hell does he have a wolf hidden in his room?"

The Sheriff ran a hand down his face, muttering he was too old for this before tucking his gun away and creeping a little closer to the hidden wolf who tried to inch away slowly until the wolf hit the Stiles' bedside table and whimpered in fear.

Jackson had no clue what the Sheriff was doing, was he going to shoot him? Kick him out? But he didn't have time to think before he saw the Sheriff's hand come down and cried out in surprised before taking cover under Stiles' bed.

The Sheriff watched, slightly amused as the wolf kept inching back, watching the Sheriff wearily. "Ugh, come on out, if you're hiding under Stiles' bed then I don't think you're too harmful, considering you're hiding under Stiles' bed which has who knows what down there. Come on, how does some fried chicken sound, and Stiles can't say shit because he's been hiding you in his room for who knows how long.

Jackson peeked out from under the bed, eyeing the hand that was presented to him as well as the thought of some good food, the Sheriff watched as Jackson contemplated his options before crawling back out sniffing the Sheriff's hand in delight as he realized how much the Sheriff shared a scent near Stiles'.

The Sheriff grinned as the wolf finally came out of hiding and trotted along beside him as they climbed down the stairs and into the kitchen where he got set to work, looking for chicken in the fridge to fry for the blonde wolf.

* * *

"Hey dad, I'm home," Stiles slammed the door shut on his way in when he heard his dad call him into the kitchen. "Hey daddio, whatcha got there? Is that fried chicken!? I thought I told you no unhealthy food."

"Chicken is healthy, Stiles, otherwise it wouldn't be in the fridge where I can eat it. And also, I think I deserve something good, which by the way son. Why the hell do you have a wolf hiding in your room?"

Stiles blanched, wondering how his dad found out. "Uh, dad what are you talking about? There's no wolf around here. Where, I don't see one anywhere, hehe." He dad just glared at him from the other side of the counter before pointing down. Stiles craned his head to look past the counter below to see the blond wolf he had habituated chewing on a chicken bone. Oh god, his dad was going to kill him.

"Now, would you like to explain to me why this little guy has been here for who knows how long?" Stiles scratched the back of head trying to come up with something believable because surely his dad would believe him if he told his dad that he found Jackson in the preserve and how he followed Stiles home. Because there are too many things wrong with that, such as the fact that Stiles wasn't even supposed to be out that day and his dad was going to find out that his had hidden Jackson in his room for nearly two weeks, and the explanation to his dad about how he knew that wolf was Jackson? Yep, not a chance his dad was going to take that answer well, along with probably sending to a mental asylum. Yep, not telling his dad that.

Stiles finally lifted his head after piecing together his well-thought out lie only to look up and see his dad's glare. "Hehe, I found him and he followed me home?"

"You sure about that son?" The teen just smiled meekly before moving back slowly, the Sheriff watched, pure amusement on his face when Stiles reached the doorway and right before dashing off, the blond wolf tackled Stiles to the ground.

"Jackson! Now is not the time you, OW! Get off of me or I swear to god! JAckson!" The Sheriff raised an eyebrow, 'Jackson', he wondered if this wolf had anything to do with Jackson's withdrawal for the semester.

"Okay, okay, belly rub. Oh my god, you're the biggest pain in my ass ever, and I told you stay away from my dad." Stiles grumbled out as he continued to pet the wolf that has wedged its way into Stiles' jacket, purring contently.

"And who said he found me? What if I found him sleeping in your bed? You should've seen what happened when I pointed a gun at him." That was where Stiles began to panick.

"Oh my god dad, you didn't shoot him did you?" Stiles' voice came out in a squeak as he checked over the blond wolf who was pushing against Stiles, trying to take in more of his scent while Stiles pushed back trying to see and feel for any sign of injuries since his disappearance earlier that morning.

The Sheriff chuckled, "No, he let out a cry and hid behind your bed and when I came closer and cornered him, he dove under your bed, must've traumatized the poor thing hiding under there," He paused to hear Stiles' squawk of denial of how there was nothing bad beneath his bed before continuing. "I coaxed him out with some fried chicken, now that I've truthfully explained how I found your little friend, why don't you tell me what you were doing when he followed you home and what on earth did it make you think it was okay to take home a wolf as a pet?"

"Hehe, I heard something in the woods and ran into him?" The Sheriff sighed and sat down before replying.

"Why don't you sit down and explain to me what's been going on in Beacon Hills, I'm not an idiot Stiles. I know you've been keeping secrets, but this crosses the line, now why don't you tell me everything from start to finish."

"We're gonna be here for a while dad, and you might not believe m-" The Sheriff cut his son off with an eyeroll and groaned.

"Just tell me Stiles, I love you son and I want to help, besides, I'm not taking anything but the truth if you plan on keeping that wolf in my house."

* * *

Stiles fell into bed face first moaning and groaning in exasperation before feeling Jackson jump into the bed on top of him. "Ow, you stupid werewolf, get off of me. It's all your fault my dad found out and now he knows everything. And I can't believe he didn't go crazy when I told him you were a wolf, I swear it was like he already knew of the supernatural and I just humored him or something, that old man."

Jackson whined for attention, pressing his muzzle into his mate's hands, preening happily when Stiles ran his hands down his back and back up to scratch at his ears lightly. "You think there's any chance he already knew about the supernatural and was just waiting for me to confess? I think so, he was so patient though, I wonder how much he actually knew before. Oh! Do you think he knew about Derek and the Hale pack a while ago? Do you think that's why he was so defensive about taking Derek into custody because of Scott?"

The teen kept mumbling theories as the blond wolf continued steal any and every drop of attention Stiles gave him, feeling blissful at the amount of contact and affection Stiles fed him. "Hey, Jax?"

The blonde wolf looked up, tongue lolling out of mouth, ears perking gleefully at the nickname Stiles had recently given him, "Not that I don't mind you in wolf form, but are you ever going to shift back? I mean, sure you were a pain in my ass, but I really would like having someone to talk to now that the pack is done and ignoring me."

Jackson's heart broke hearing the sorrow in his mate's voice, but he also couldn't help but think about what Stiles had asked him. Was he ever going to shift back? Could he even? But if he shifted back, that meant Stiles was going to abandon him like before and constantly bicker with him, and Jackson didn't want that. He wanted to keep his mate happy and if staying in wolf form was the only way to keep Stiles happy then he would do it, especially considering the fact that Stiles gave him a lot of attention, and now that the Sheriff knew, there was no point in hiding anymore. What was there left for him as a human? His parents were leaving for London with or without him at the end of the school year and Danny was still his best friend, but he's been too busy with his boyfriend to spare any thoughts about Jackson's whereabouts. There was nothing for Jackson if he shifted back, but here in wolf form, he had everything he ever wished for and he wasn't going to give it up, unless it made Stiles happier, then maybe he would reconsider.

The wolf was pulled from his thoughts when Stiles gently tapped the tip of his sensitive ears and looked up into the teen's warm, amber eyes. "Jax, you okay buddy? You seemed really conflicted. But I want you to know that I don't care if you stay as a wolf, but please think of yourself. You don't really want to live the rest of your life like this, do you? I know you feel better staying like this, but nothing bad will happen if you decide you wanna change back, okay? There's no pressure to shift back, or stay like this, alright?"

The teen caught the wolf's muzzle in his hands as he gently turned his head until they were eye to eye, making sure that the werewolf understood what he was saying. Jackson couldn't help but get lost in his eyes, glowing happily with all the attention Stiles focused on him as Stiles smiled and let the wolf go once he found the answer he seemed to be looking for in his eyes. Stiles couldn't help but grin wider as he realized how close the two had become ever since Jackson pranced home next to him that day.

The first couple days was Stiles awkwardly trying to get Jackson to leave before he finally broke down into sobs in front of the werewolf who had just curled up into Stiles' arms that night as Stiles cried into his coat as he blabbered on about how he couldn't believe Scott had just given up on him and how much hurt and betrayal he felt, it was a rough night for Jackson too. And when Jackson was still in Stiles' bed the next morning, Stiles had given up trying to remove the wolf when he realized just how much he needed a friend and Jackson had been there for him. Granted he knew Jackson couldn't talk in this form, but he also knew that if Jackson hadn't wanted to be there then he would've left Stiles to his tears, but he didn't. And the two had soon fallen into a regular pattern of Stiles going to school, coming home to rant about Scott and the pack, preparing dinner and eat small portions when Jackson kept badgering him about eating, and falling asleep with the wolf curled up in bed with him after crying out the last of his tears for the day and the cycle repeated. It wasn't even until recently did Stiles even realized how much better he felt whenever Jackson was around, how much the teen meant to him in the short time they had come together, and if he was being honest, he wouldn't know what to do if the wolf just upped and left suddenly one day.

"Come on, let's go to bed. We can deal with my dad and everything else tomorrow since it'll be Saturday. We can go running too if you want, let's just hope the Alpha pack and Scott aren't around also." Jackson nodded as he jumped up onto the mattress, curling up in the space Stiles had left in his arms huffing in content as his mate's hands found their way back to his ears. "Good night, Jax, sleep well."

* * *

A/N: I hope the length of this chapter had made up for my absence, but how are you guys doing? Summer started a the second week of June, but I was lazy and some stuff occurred and I was upset for a pretty long while, so I really had no motivation to write, so please forgive me. Hopefully I will be able to keep a steady update going now since I'm not busy at at, I'm aiming for every other week but we'll see.

Thank you to **lunasky99** for your review, I hope you found this chapter enjoyable as well and it meant a lot to me to leave a comment, so thank you.

Review! Till Next Time! :)

 _Uploaded: 07.09.17_

 _Word Count (w/out A/N): 2,909_

 _Edited: 07.07.17_


	5. Chapter 5

Third Person P.O.V.

"Jax, come on. I don't have all day you know. And this was your idea too." Tapping his foot impatiently, Stiles groaned as he checked the time on his phone for the umpteemth time waiting for the werewolf, "If you don't come down right now, then I'm leaving you."

The wolf on cue finally came barreling down the stairs in a frenzy hearing that his mate was leaving him and ran head first into Stiles' legs, both crying out at the impact; one in surprise and the other in pain after hitting the floor. Jackson barked once as if asking Stiles if he was alright, accepting the boy's gangly arms swatting his muzzle away as the teen responding that he was fine.

"Okay, okay, I'm up. God, what took you so long, you don't need time to get ready at all," Stiles just sighed as Jackson met Stiles' gaze, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he kept trying to push Stiles to the door. "Oh my gosh, I got it. Stop pushing me already you big oaf."

The two followed the steps down after Stiles locked his door and climbed into his Jeep, starting up the engine was the werewolf got comfortable in the passenger seat, "I just hope no one pulls me over for having a big wolf in here, unless I tell them it's just an abnormally large dog. Yeah, that works, it's Beacon Hills, nobody will suspect a thing. Well, maybe my dad, but I doubt he'll be patrolling today. Yep, we'll be fine. Or at least I hop- OW Okay, sheesh, I'm driving. Stop trying to eat me, I already fed you lunch- well early lunch, but you get the picture, no. Stop. JACKSON!"

The teen wolf kept teething at Stiles' free hand that wasn't on the wheel, pestering him to stop talking and to pet his fur, "God, you are so needy."

The wolf huffed in response, but had stopped trying to playfully gnaw on his mate's fingers. The two stayed quiet the rest of the trip there, Jackson nipping at Stiles' fingers every time he had to pull his hand away to make a turn. Finally, the two parked along one of the trials leading deep into the preserve, Jackson following Stiles out through his door, too impatient to wait for his mate to walk around to the other side.

"Come on, we only have an hour before we have to go back to cook dad dinner," Jackson huffed in response, but butt his head against the back of Stiles' legs to get the human moving forward into the preserve. "You think Derek knows we're here?" Jackson barked and kept looking back to make sure Stiles was still behind him, but had no intentions of answering his mate.

"I'll take that as you don't care, but I think he knows. I mean this is his property, it's been a while since I've seen him though, but I doubt he'll come looking for us, let alone me. I mean I'm only human, like what use am I? I mean even Scott left me... everybody left me. Except you, but now I'm thinking that before this, you were lonely too weren't you?" Stiles paused to sighed, and continued trekking through the bushed and low branches to Jackson's favorite clearing, "I guess we were both a little lonely, but I'm glad you went looking for me. God, I don't know what I would've done without you. My dad too."

Jackson half listened to his mate rambling, stomach dropping when Stiles talked about being hurt and alone without Scott, and was about to pad back over to his mate when he picked up the sounds of rustling and branches breaking from his left. He stopped moving and spun in the direction of the noise, growling when he heard two different sets of steps.

"-Like I can't believe him, he thinks he can just parade back into my life like nothing happ- Jax! What's up?" The boys cut off his ramble when he accidentally ran into the werewolf who was currently growling into the bushes and stood protectively in front of Stiles. "Hey, is somebody there?"

Jackson didn't answer, too busy trying to determine if the people the steps belonged to were friend or foe, backing up, trying to shield his mate.

Stiles watched from behind Jackson's tense form, waiting to see what it was that was making Jackson protective and watched, wide-eyed as the two figures to break apart from the shadows and came face-to-faced with the alpha twins.

"Oh god, what the hell? Are we going to die? I am not ready to die? Well I kind of was before ya know, but I'm perfectly fine now and would greatly appreciate not being shredded into pieces. So, please leave us alone. Please?" The twins shared a glance between them before turning back to Stiles, both sporting malicious grins on their faces and took a step forward, provoking Jackson to growl at the two and Stiles to take a step back. "No? Why not? I mean we didn't come here looking for you. We just wanted a walk, uhh."

With every sentence, Stiles took a step back with Jackson moving along to create distance between the two parties. "Aw, is the wittle human scared. Well you should be. What do you think Aiden, should we kill him? Maybe that'll teach McCall not to mess with us."

Ethan grinned, his fangs prominent, light bouncing off them, drawing Stiles' attention to them. "The hell! Scott doesn't give a damn about me, let me go. I'm here on my own terms."

The twins paid no attention to the human's words, instead choosing to move closer, making Jackson stand to his full height in his fully-shifted form. "Hey bro, maybe we should kill the wolf instead, it might be part of McCall's pack."

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Jackson growled, only moving closer to shield Stiles from their sight when the boy went to move in front of the wolf.

"You're right E, maybe we should kill them both, a human and a wolf. McCall won't be able to ignore us then. " Jackson kept growling at them every time they mentioned killing Stiles and moved towards them, snarling and baring his teeth at them. "Look, he's mad. He doesn't want us to hurt the human."

"Maybe we should kill him, maybe he'll go rogue. What do ya think?" They both cackled as Jackson's growls became louder and more aggressive. The wolf was now much closer to the twins, keeping Stiles behind him and out of sight.

"How should we kill him? Maybe we could cut off an arm or leg. Ooh, or maybe we can play cat and mouse, that'd be fun, make him run around fearing for his life. Or maybe we can-"

Jackson cut Aiden off by throwing his entire body at the shifted werewolf, snarling and snapping his jaw, eyes glowing a bright blue. Ethan, seeing his chance to take down the human had only taken a step before the fully shifted-wolf snapped its jaw around his leg and bit down hard, snapping his leg in two.

Stiles scrambled back, eyes wide from his place on the ground when Ethan had tried to pounce on him and was frozen in fear as the werewolf he had been sheltering nearly shred the twins apart. Unable to close his eyes for fear of seeing Jackson getting hurt, could only stare wide-eyed as the twins let scream after scream fall from their mouths as Jackson fought them teeth and claws.

In what felt like hours but was really only minutes, Jackson had the twins at his mercy as the two laid on the ground completely battered and unable to move from the broken bones and the pool of blood surrounding them, Stiles weakly called out for his wolf when he realized Jackson was going to kill them, and he knew Jackson would not be able to handle anymore deaths on his hands, pushed himself off from the ground and slowly moved to the snarling werewolf.

"Jax, Jackson please. Stop, please, Jackson. For me, you can't," Stiles pleaded and placed shaking hands on Jackson's blood covered coat, and slowing began to stroke at the darkened fur. "No more, please, let's just go. I'll call Derek or something. Hell even Scott if I have to, but please Jackson, please."

The honey-eyed boy no longer knew what he was pleading for, but continued in his efforts to get the wolf to stop. The boy noticed that the werewolf's eyes were brighter than usual and the rings around them were a shade of bloody red. Stiles sucked in a breath and wrapped his arms around Jackson, murmuring pleas into his neck, body still shaking from the shock, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Please Jackson, I want to go home. Jax, please." The wolf kept growling at the two figures on the ground, but never at the teen wrapped around his neck.

Stiles was finally able to pull the wolf far enough away from the two bodies, that were still alive when he last checked and sat down with his wolf curled around him. The two sat there till the sun nearly went down before the brown-haired teen managed to pull the wolf away from the twins and took them back to his Jeep where he drove them back home, hands still shaking and eyes darting left and right in shock still.

* * *

"What the hell do you think happened? What attacked them?" Scott stood next to Deaton as the vet bandaged one of the twin's abdomen, grabbing a pair of scissors to cut off the excess. Derek and the rest of the pack stood around the room, eyes trained on the twin alphas who were still passed out on the medical tables.

"I believe it was a wolf, most likely a fully-transformed wolf as you can see the teeth marks and the size of the jaw are far too big to belong to a shifted wolf." Deaton stepped back after showing the Derek who was closest to him.

Derek looked at the marks, eyes scanning the rest of the body that seemed to carry the same bite marks, some wounds were still gaping and bleeding, the skin peeling where Deaton had not yet tended to, still unable to imagine what had attacked them. Rogues were one possibility, but the last sighting had been weeks before the alpha pack's arrival.

"But none of us can fully shift, and I doubt any of their own turned against them," Scott muttered, trying to figure out who attacked them.

Derek shook his head before speaking, "No, their pack is still a suspect, they're an all alpha pack, maybe one of them said something that provoked the other to attack the two of them, but I don't know if any of them can actually transform.

And the only person I know that can transform is Jackson, but I haven't seen or scented him in nearly a month. We've been too busy trying to deal with the alpha pack that we've completely forgot about him."

That got the attention of the entire pack as they realized that Derek was right and the blonde werewolf had fell off their radar and they hadn't bothered to look for him after, too busy with the alpha pack.

"Okay, let's say you're right, if it is Jackson, then why did he attack them? And why now? He's been nowhere to be found, so why would he come out of hiding now to attack them. They nearly died Derek, why didn't he finish them?" Scott threw question after question out in the air as everybody contemplate the answers.

"We don't know, but he may have gone rogue from his bond with Stiles if they are no longer bonded." Deaton stated as he continued looking over the rest of the twin's injuries.

"So what do we do? It's not like we can just go looking for Jackson again because that was a disaster before." Scott thought aloud as he contemplated what to do.

"Go talk to Stiles, last I saw him, he looked perfectly fine. That's a good place to start." Lydia answered, giving the pack hope once they realized they weren't at a dead end. "So, who wants to go talk to him? He wasn't very pleased with my and Scott's conversation last time."

* * *

Scott sighed, walking up the familiar driveway to Stiles' door, hesitating for a few moments before slowly raising his hand to knock on the door. But to his surprise, the door swung open right before his hand made contact with the wood.

"What do you want?" Scott flinched at Stiles' cold tone, his hand only centimeters away from the door, dropped to his side. Scott had no clue what to say, even though he was the one to volunteer to talk to Stiles. Stiles, his childhood best friend. His former best friend.

"If you're not going to say anything, then get out. I don't want you here." And those words hurt Scott, hit him right in the heart. He winced at Stiles' words, licking his lips to try to figure out what to say that wouldn't make the teen blow up on him.

"Hey, how are you?" Stiles scoffed as he couldn't believe that after all their lost contact, this was how Scott began.

"How are you? What the hell do you want from me? When I tried to talk to you, you kept blowing me off. When I needed your help and you said you'd be there, you abandoned me. And you know what? When you needed something, I was there. I was there for you and you weren't. You left me, you broke my trust and our friendship. So whatever you came here for, I don't care. I'm not going to help you because you couldn't figure it out yourself.

"And if you haven't noticed, we're done. I don't need you, so fuck off." Stiles panted, as he threw his arms out to the side to emphasize his words, glaring as Scott who couldn't say anything in response. The werewolf was deeply hurt, but he knew better than to argue back, because Stiles was right.

Stiles was right, he had abandoned Stiles when he needed him. He had left the boy alone, left him without anyone else to help him. He broke Stiles' trust, and that's what hurt him the most. His best friend from childhood up to now didn't trust him anymore, Scott did this. Scott broke it.

Stiles stood tensely in the doorway, arms have fallen during Scott's racing mind, glaring at the werewolf on his doorstep.

"We found Aiden and Ethan, the alpha pack twins, nearly mauled to death in the preserve earlier today," Scott paused, hand rising up to run through his hair. "We just wanted to know if you knew anything about it."

Stiles scoffed, not believing that the teen in front of him used to be his best friend. Someone he could trust. "No, and guess what? Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Now fucking leave me alone and don't come to my house anymore. You're not wanted. You and your 'friends'."

Scott licked his dry lips, unsure of what to say before nodding. And Scott couldn't do anything, but leave, because he knew that apologizing wouldn't do anything. Not when Stiles couldn't trust him anymore. Not when he now knew, that his words held no meaning to the teen in front of him.

He walked back to his bike slowly, still unable to comprehend what had happened, Stiles still standing in his doorway, glaring at him to move faster. Scott sighed, wishing that he had tried harder to fix their friendship before pulling his helmet on and starting the engine. He looked up, giving one last glance at the figure in the house, before resigning to himself that he had failed someone he cared for and left.

* * *

As soon as Scott left, Stiles slammed the door shut, heart pounding in his chest as he slid down the door, head cradled in his hands. Jackson came down the stairs, feeling his mate in distress and came to slide down next to him, head resting on his paws, whining at his mate for attention.

Stiles felt tears gathering in his, pulling his head up to burying his face into Jackson's fur so the wolf doesn't see them, but he knows it's useless when he gets another whine in response when the wolf feels tears hitting his fur.

"I'm fine. Or I'll be fine. I don't know anymore, I cared about him you know. He was practically my brother, Melissa thought of me as her son too. And then all this shit happens, and-" Stiles cut himself off, taking in deep breaths to try to control his sobs, but he knew a losing battle when he saw one and resigned to tightening his grip around the werewolf.

"It hurts, Jax, and I want it to stop. I cared so much," Stiles sobbed into Jackson's coat, the two sitting against the wall until as the human blabbered about where things started to go wrong before Stiles slowly passed out from exhaustion. And right before Jackson followed his mate into sleep, he promised to make his mate happy, because Stiles deserved all the happiness in the world.

* * *

Hey guys, so I just wanted to thank you all for still fav/following this story despite my terrible update schedule. It really means a lot to me and I'm really sorry for the unorganized updates but it's because I typically forget about this site because I have also "True Mates" crossposted on Ao3 and that site always gets update first, so if y'all want to keep up with this story still, check out my Ao3 link in my bio!

Also, thank you very much to **xxxYoongixxx** , **Always Funtimes** , **m00npr1nc3** , and **Faith trust pixie dust love** for your reviews! They really mean a lot to me Nd I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! :)

Thank you all for still reading and I hope y'all have a great day!

Review! Till Next Time! :)

 _Uploaded: 05.09.18_

 _Word Count (w/out A/N): 2,924_

 _Edited: 05.09.18_


	6. Chapter 6

Third Person P.O.V.

"Are you sure it was him? There is no way that's possible, he's the same as the rest, though he has been quite distant, I wonder if he is even considered pack anymore." None of the alphas said anything, instead running their gazes across the warehouse they were taking cover in, tense and poised as if ready to fight despite merely just meeting around the table. Deucalion on one side and the rest scattered on the remaining sides of the rectangular table.

"I'm not sure because none of us were there, but that's what the twins claimed when I came to confront them," Kali shrugged, replying but not making eye contact with the head alpha. The rest of the pack besides Ethan and Aiden were in attendance, also shifting in place, everybody feeling the alpha's agitation.

"Go check it out, I don't want any more problems if he can be dealt with, I came here for one thing and I will get it. Nothing will stand in my way," Deucalion spat before spinning on his heel, dismissing the rest as he exited.

.

"I'm home," Stiles called out despite knowing the only one home wasn't able to verbally reply, instead he heard the pit-pattering of paws hitting the floor as Jackson raced down the stairs to greet Stiles. "Hey Jax, how was your day?"

Stiles wasn't dumb, he knew Jackson couldn't respond, but it made him feel better having and established routine to come home to after being alone for so long without his father or Scott. "I was thinking we could go to the preserve today again if you want. I mean, I'm still spooked about what happened last time, but it's been a while since I let you roam after being cooped up in here with just the backyard to run in."

Stiles felt guilty, yet at the same time, he felt justified. He wasn't sure what to do after the incident regarding Ethan and Aiden. Sure Scott came to talk to him, but Stiles had lied and Scott had noticed, or maybe he was too distracted with Stiles screaming at him at the time. Stiles mentally shrugged in response, whatever, he'd deal with it when it came up. For now, Stiles had more important things to deal with like his wolf…

Speaking of, when did Jackson become his wolf? Sure the teen werewolf had been here since the day Stiles found him in the preserve, but Jax wasn't his. He wasn't an item to possess, he was a person; his friend, and his only companion besides his father. But the title didn't seem right. Jax has been here since the beginning of Scott and Stiles' dispute, he's seen Stiles at his worst in tears, screaming and struggling to breathe through his panic attacks, and yet he was still by Stiles' side. If anything, the Jackson was so much more than a friend, but if he wasn't a just his friend, then what is Jackson? His best friend? Maybe, but that didn't seem right either.

Before Stiles could dive further into his train of thought, a wet nose probed his stomach, Stiles jumping in response to the cold temperature of Jackson's nose before channeling his thoughts away and turning to the wolf who had been whining at him for the past minutes he spaced out and was now demanding attention.

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now. Maybe this run will do us both some good." Jackson barked in response and started to push Stiles forward and out the door, urging him to lock the door faster and hopped in the passenger seat as soon as Stiles unlocked his Jeep. "Excited are we?"

Stiles asked amused, Jackson barking nonsense in response as he started the engine.

.

"I'm dead tired. This was a good idea, we should do these weekly or even every other day. Sorry for keeping you indoors these past few days, hell it's probably been a week, to be honest," Stiles apologized as he carded his hands through Jackson's fur. The two lied on the grass underneath the shade in silence, neither finding the quiet obtrusive, rather more calming and soothing to the distressed pair.

"Hey Jax," Stiles finally broke the silence, rolling onto his side from his back to look at the werewolf. "Will you ever change back? I know I haven't said anything because I didn't want to push you, but don't you think you'd be happier as a human? I mean, you could talk, feed yourself, see Danny; I know you miss him; I guess a lot of things you can't do as a werewolf.

"Don't get me wrong, I love your company, having you around makes me feel a lot better than if I was alone, but sometimes I wonder if you're unhappy like this. Like, are you stuck in this form or do you just not want to change back?" Jackson didn't make a noise for a bit as he processed Stiles' questions, was he happy as a werewolf, could he be happier as a human? Not if it didn't involve Stiles, Jackson decided, there was nothing to live for if he didn't have Stiles.

The one who took him in even though he nearly mistook him for an enemy and almost mauled him when Stiles first found him. Stiles, the one who was open and honest to him when he couldn't be with anyone else besides his father. Stiles, who cares for him unconditionally and didn't dump him into Scott's claws after the alpha twin's incident, an act which Stiles could have justified, and yet he didn't. Instead, he stopped Jackson, told him it'd be okay and took him home to care for him. Nothing was worth losing Stiles. But maybe Stiles would rather he be human. Conversation was very hard as a wolf, but Jackson worried that if he could talk, Stiles would no longer let him listen. Things might go back to the way they were before, and Jackson didn't want that. He was scared of that happening and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. Stiles was important to him, probably the most important. And Jackson cared not only because they were mates, but also because they had no one else to rely on; no one to fall back onto when things got rough.

Before Jackson could make a choice between shifting back, something jumped out from the brush and tackled him, causing Jackson to roll onto his feet, snarling at whoever interrupted his time with Stiles. It was Kali. And she wasn't alone, when he checked his surroundings, Jackson found himself surrounded by the rest of the alpha pack. He cursed to himself, how could he have not noticed, and now Stiles was left alone, defenseless and Jackson couldn't do much to change that.

Four on one and Stiles was stuck smack dab in the middle, trapped with no way to escape or defend himself. The two hadn't the foresight to carry weapons and this was going to cost them.

"Look at what we have here, a fully-shifted wolf and a human. Won't Scott enjoy the gift we'll leave him on his doorstep? Don't worry human, your wolf will remain in one piece, I can't guarantee the same for you though," Kali cackled, claws twitching as if she was itching to rip his limbs apart.

And though Jackson wanted to fight and show his worth to his mate, he wasn't delusional. It'd be suicidal to go up again four alpha werewolves while he was distracted by the thought of getting his mate to safety. He growled, jaws snapping viciously as he couldn't figure out what to do. To fight, or run? Running might not even be an option with the four surrounding them.

"Jax, just leave me, it's you they want, not me," Stiles spoke, his voice unwavering, but Jackson could feel his fear, scent his uncertainty. Not a chance was Jackson going to abandon his mate. Not with how far their bond has grown, leaving Stiles behind was not an option, even if he wanted to, he couldn't. It'd be impossible with their bond. These past months have been the best months of Jackson's life, they had gained each other's trust and bonded through Stiles' worries and struggles, Jackson would give up his life if it meant saving Stiles'.

"Come on wolfy, you heard him, go run, see how long of a chase we could play," Ennis grinned maliciously, mouth full of sharp teeth, gleaming in the sunlight. The twins were on the other side, quiet, but watching Jackson with an intense stare, their eyes screamed for vengeance, bloodshed.

They started closing in the circle, Stiles beginning to feel confined, breaths getting ragged as a panic attack started. He closed his eyes, hands gripping Jackson's fur as he soon realized that they wouldn't get out of here alive, not without a miracle. And he doubted even a miracle could save him, not when he had no backup, no pack.

Stiles held his breath, heart racing as Jackson let out growl after growl, snarling at them to keep their distance, but they just continued until they were merely a foot or so away, close enough to lunge at.

Fuck, they were so screwed.

.

"What do you mean they're in the preserve?"

Derek sighed in exasperation, "Exactly what I said. I caught their scents and they were all together…. and I think Stiles is in the preserve too."

"What!?" That had Scott's head shooting up from where he was hunched over the table looking at maps of Beacon Hills. "Stiles, why is he in the preserve, it's not safe. He should have known we've been chasing the alpha pack for a while. We have to go check it out, Derek."

The two agreed and ended up calling the rest of the pack to rendezvous at the treeline before taking off for Stiles. Despite the bad falling out, Scott couldn't help but be concerned, Stiles was like his brother and even though Stiles didn't see him the same anymore, Scott'd protect him with his life if he had to.

"Let's go."

.

"Can't we work this out, I mean, if you want money, you can have Jackson's Porsche, that thing's a beauty. Or maybe some food, you guys look hungry, I can make a mean steak, or so my dad says," Stiles flinched, burrowing closer to Jackson when his comments only ignited growls in response. "No steak, eh maybe lasagna, yeah that sounds good. Yummy past-"

"Stiles!" Both Jackson and Stiles jerked at the shout, turning towards to voice that called his name, watching in astonishment as the pack came running from the trees.

"Oh thank god, never have I ever been happy to see you Scottie. Yeah, consider us okay, just get me and Jax out of here! Oh god, I'm going to puke," Stiles rasped as he clutched Jackson to his chest closer.

* * *

A/N: So, if y'all have read another work of mine before, you'll know that I'm a terrible updater, I am the most inconsistent author ever and I'm not mad at it per se because that means I spend more time on a chapter, but it's kind of frustrating because of how slow I am, but I guess quality over quantity.

Anyways, life sucks right now and I'm not in the best place; I haven't really been happy these past few months, but I think I'm going to take a few weeks to myself after college app season is over and just try to get my life sorted out. I'm hoping to get a chapter up by the end of this month because writing has really helped, but we'll see I guess. If you really want to know more, I went more into depth about this in my Ao3 upload, so if y'all wanna read it, you can find me at **luke_is_a_kirby** , in the end note of chapter 6 of True Mates.

Also, thank you to everybody who stuck with me this far and know that I do plan on finishing this. I'm aiming for 10 chapters and the "deadline" in February, but who knows with my erratic update schedule.

Thank you so so much to **out of control with OCs** , **white collar black wolf** , **m00npr1nc3** , **Pollyyatesx** , and **AgokaChan** for your reviews. They really mean a lot to me, like y'all have no idea. I feel like my writing is very inconsistent because my upload schedule (or my lack of) but, they really make a difference. Also, thank you to all my followers/favs, I'm just really thankful y'all stuck with me this far. I hope you all know I really appreciate you, and not just my reviews/followers/favs but also my silent readers, just seeing people read this story makes me happy, so thank you!

Review! Till Next Time! :)

 _Updated: 11.03.18_

 _Word Count (w/out A/N): 1,906_

 _Edited: 10.30.18_


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